buying a fish finder 4 the boat looking 4 a quality one 4 the dollar easy to use

 

For shallow water, down to about 80 feet, I use a Humminbird 3-D. Don't remember the model. It's OK but not really great. Have seen Lorance and Garmin units that were better. I do like the wide sweep feature of the bird.

For Salt and other deep water I have an old Ray Jefferson CRT tube unit that is really hard to beat. Problem is it's an amp sucker and you need a motor with a good alternator to keep up with it. I also have a Lorance, and again I don't recall the model number, that is designed for deep water. Works well down to about 500 feet.

If I were buying an new unit I would look real close at the Farumo (sp?) line. Saw some at a boat show that had a really good GPS/map system and the depth finder all in one unit. I've since heard good things about the brand and there combination units. Sure would take up less dash space than the three finders and Garmin GPS/map unit I have now.

By using various transducers and a switching system I understand the Farumo will give you side and forward looking sonar while traveling as well as the straight down fish finder sonar. All depends on how much cash you want to part with.

I have learned that cheap units are marginal at best and probably waste more fishing time than they save.

 

Depends on the features you want and what type of fishing you will be doing. The hummingbird 3D is great. I have a Lowrance LMS-332C on my 22ft Sea Pro center console boat. This LMS-332c has the color display and the GPS with WAPPS and an external intenna. It sells for about $650. I have a hummingbird 100 series black and white fish finder on my 14ft jon boat. It does fine for my crappie fishing. If you don't want to spend too much money but want a combo fish finder/GPS, look at the hummingbird A363 for $299. It has a monochrom display and is a combo fish finder with GPS. Also the Eagle Cuda combo is a monochrom fish finder with GPS for about $225.

If you don't need the GPS, then you can opt for just a fish finder and they range from $99 on up to $600 plus. If you do want a combo fish finder with GPS, you also need to ask yourself if you will want/need any lake map or coastal chips. My Lowrance LMS-332c has the Navionics Gold Plus chip that I use for coastal saltwater and off shore. I also have a Lakes map chip for Texas. If you have any other questions, you can PM me and I might can help more. I love riding atv's but my first passion has been fishing. I currently have 4 boats and usually fish about 1-2 times a week throughout the year. Hope this will help.

PS: For ease of use, the all are pretty easy, but hummingbird, Eagle and Lowrance are very easy to use, espically hummingbird. For my saltwater boats, I use Lowrance and for my bass and Jon boats, I use nothing but hummingbirds.

 

Can't add much more than has been said. I no longer fish saltwater and if I ddi I stil don't have the depths here on coastal Texas that you'd be dealing with on the Pac Coast. I use Lowrance and Eagle (basically the same company).......but for me to fish deeper than 25' is unusual. Generally you get what you pay for in this market ... the higher end stuff gives better detail so it comes down to what your price range is and what your needs are. Lowrance is hard to beat for ease of use and quality though!